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Adding your skills to your LinkedIn profile will be a game changer. We know the future is uncertain. In the last few years alone, we’ve seen massive shifts in the job market, including the collapse of entire industries. But you don’t need to press the big red panic button in your head. Instead, think of this as an opportunity to strategize how to stand out among a sea of similar applicants.
The most effective way to do that is by listing your skills in your LinkedIn Profile. You will learn so much about yourself and your skills and talents. Even if your skill is just eating an impressive amount of donuts, sprinkle that in—don’t glaze over your talents! Your skills make you stand out, so don’t leave any holes.
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As a career changer, you’re no stranger to the chaos life throws you. You know that change is the only constant. A lot may or may not have changed in your career goals, but listing your skills can lead you to your next breakthrough in more ways than you can imagine!
Your LinkedIn profile is an opportunity to advertise to the companies you want to work with. You use it to convince them to reach out to you. So it must be engaging and accurate to what you’re trying to achieve. An excellent first step in completing your LinkedIn is ensuring your skills, endorsements, and recommendations are relevant and up to par with what companies are looking for.
Try it! List at least five skills you’ve gained from prior work experience.
You might be new to the field you’re transitioning to or have some experience under your belt. Regardless, listing your skills is critical to getting those sweet views on your profile. They’ll be important ones too, from employers and recruiters, and not your jealous high school rival who checks in on you every five years. Start by making a list of skills that are vital to your field. All past experiences and transferable skills will add more value and views to your profile. Don’t forget to think about your soft skills, like communication or leadership, to go along with yourtechnical expertise. You might already have skills from your previous field that will be relevant to your new one!
For example, if you are a stay-at-home-mom looking to break into real estate, think about the duties you performed. Did you ever host events? That’s an open house experience, and that skill is vital to selling houses! Ever negotiate with a home improvement contractor or challenge a bill? Those negotiating skills are exactly what a realtor needs. Even if you think that specific skills aren’t transferable, you may be able to use them during an interview.
Having endorsements and recommendations is just as important as listing your skills! Endorsements and recommendations are like product reviews we re all used to reading reviews before buying a product, right? That’s how recruiters use endorsements and recommendations, since they are essentially the people you have worked with signing off on your skills.
Recruiters look at recommendations before hiring candidates. They want to see your skill set and to understand what your past co workers have to say. Show the recruiters that people have witnessed you use the skills that you listed. Adding skills and recommendations on your profile builds its credibility and causes your profile to rank higher on LinkedIn searches, attracting recruiters like bees to precious honey!
Now that you understand how vital it is to list skills and recommendations, we will go over how to add them to your profile in a professional and engaging way over the next two episodes!
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